Trip to Peru: Machu Picchu

Since I knew I needed sleep, I forced myself to go to bed at 8 PM, hoping that I'd get at least six hours of sleep before the alarm went off bright and early. I managed to get about that much sleep, but I work up a dozen times with a headache that wouldn't go away. We met for breakfast, where the food was kind of dry, but any food tasted good to me at this point. It helped rid me of my headache. After breakfast, we went to the lobby to meet with our travel arranger, who gave us all our tickets, rode with us in the van to the train station, and then led us into the station to show us where we were traveling to and at what stop to depart from on the way home. We wouldn't be riding the train all the way back, for some reason.

The train left promptly at 6:30. The seats were fairly comfortable but needed more leg room, just like an airplane. The train took forever to leave Cusco. Since the tracks led over a mountain, the train was forced to take several switches. We would go forward for a while, stop, backup, and then switch to another track to continue forwards. The train was very noisy, as I watched woman carrying wheat plug their ears and dogs howl as we passed through neighborhoods. The car was mostly empty when we started, but we stopped at several train stations along the way and by the last one the car was full, and much noisier. They served us a small sandwich and a drink along the way. I spent the whole ride looking out the window at the endless farmlands and mountians. It was very scenic. Finally, almost four hours later, were arrived!

We departed the train and found not our guide, but her friend. She directed us to the buses which would take us to Machu Picchu. The bus takes a dirt road up the side of a mountain and drops you off at the entrance. There we met our guide. She first directed us to the bathrooms, and then the entrance to the park. So after 11 hours of flying, four hours of train and a bus ride, we had arrived at our destination, and yes, it was worth it.

The tour started off slow. We walked in to a point where we could see most of the Inca city. The guide spent some time explaining the history of the city, at least what is known from examining the ruins, since there is no written records from the people who lived here. Then she explained how the city was discovered in the early 1900s. After many photos were shot, we continued on. Having a private guide was very helpful and interesting. If we had wandered around alone, we would have enjoyed the sites, but would have no idea of what we were looking at. She took time to show us the amazing stone work, how all the stones were shaped to interlock and fit smoothly together. She showed us how they created the shape of a condor in the rocks, and how important condors were in their society. We walked all over the place, up and down rock steps that were uneven and awkward to navigate. The two hour tour went by rather quickly. When we were done, she led us out (we could return anytime all day long) and showed us where the food was. We thanked her and said goodbye.

After eating an interesting lunch of chicken, some kind of burger and hot dogs, we returned to the park to explore on our own - we still had four hours left! We wandered around to some of the spots where we didn't go on the tour before we headed towards a trail to an Inca bridge. It was raining lightly at this point so out came the jackets and panchos. We weren't sure what the bridge looked like of how far it was, but I got my "summit fever" and convinced the rest to trek onward. Then we encountered someone who said it wasn't far and was worth the trip. So five minutes later we made it to the bridge. It was interesting, looking at it from a distance (we couldn't get any closer), but not spectacular, as this man had indicated. So a few photos later, we left.

The only other trail we wanted to walk on, for at least a short while, was the famous Inca Trail. People hike this trail from Cusco, which takes four days. We spent less than 30 minutes on it, but at least we were there. The other major hike that people do here is the hike up Wayan Picchu. The is the mountain (or hill) that is in the background of all Machu Picchu photos, including mine. We were told not to hike it if we were afraid of heights, because the trail was on the precipice the whole hike up. Not only am I afraid of heights, but we were not equipped for the hike and it would have taking two hours, so we passed. We talked to some women from Sacramento who had hiked it the day before and couldn't believe we weren't going to try. But then again, they were leaving for the Amazon the next day for their Thanksgiving.

By this time we were getting tired. We saw all we wanted to see and decided to head back to the small city where the train station was. We boarded the bus and headed back down the hill. Once in the city, we did some shopping. I actually bought a Machu Picchu shirt, since buying the shirt at Machu Picchu made it more authentic. The woman first wanted 50 soles, but I talked her down to 20, which is about $7 US dollars. Probably still too much, as the shirt has already shrunk, but the print is embroidery, so it won't fade with each wash.

We had enough time for a light snack and then headed to the train station. Our train was not the same train as we took, but the same class. However, the seats were arranged back to back and slightly less comfortable. The car was only about 60% full, and since everybody was tired, very quiet. Since the sun was setting quickly, most of the ride was dark outside. Since there was nothing to look at, the trip seemed to take much longer.

Finally, our stop had arrived, and surprisingly, most people also departed the train. This must be a popular place for tours to pick up passengers. We were told that we would arrive back at our hotel one hour quicker than the train, and that doesn't surprise me since it took so long for the train to leave Cusco. We found our driver, or he found us, and we hurriedly drove off. It seems that these tour drivers are in some kind of competition to see who can make it back first. I buckled my seat belt and hung on. It seems that the lines down the middle of the road are just a suggestion. Our driver passed cars and busses as he approached blind turns. I wasn't worried. They know what they are doing and I saw no signs of damage on our van. The van trip was very fast, and we were at our hotel before 9 PM. Straight to our rooms we went, for tomorrow we were in for another long tour of the country side.

I must say that I enjoyed Machu Picchu much more than I thought I would. The place is amazing. I do wish that there had been more sun, just so the photos would be brighter. As we departed Machu Picchu, I actually began to feel very sad, probably because I knew that I'd never be back. It was kind of like when I was hiking down Mt. Whitney earlier this year after an unsuccessful summit attempt, I wasn't expecting these emotions. But you never know. If I someday get married, any my wife wants to go to Machu Picchu, I'd go back.